Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914)

Director:

Henry Lehrman

Writer:

Henry Lehrman (writer)

Release Date:

7 February 1914 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Comedy

Plot:

Charlie, dressed as a tramp for the first time, goes to a baby-cart race in Venice, California. He causes a great deal of trouble and confusion...

Plot Keywords:

Automobile Racing | Public Domain | Charlie Chaplin | Race Car

Cast

Charles Chaplin	...	Tramp
Henry Lehrman	...	Film Director
Frank D. Williams	...	Camerman
Billy Jacobs	...	Boy
Charlotte Fitzpatrick	...	Girl
Thelma Salter	...	Girl
Gordon Griffith	...	Boy

Also Known As:

Kid's Auto Race
The Children's Automobile Race
The Pest (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

11 min | Canada:6 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Argentina:Atp

Company:

Keystone Film Company

Trivia:

This was the first film in which Chaplin played his most famous character, The Tramp. With only a small number of exceptions, Chaplin would play only The Tramp (or slight variations on the character) on film until The Great Dictator (1940).

Movie Connections:

Featured in Charlie Chaplin: The Little Tramp (1980) (TV)

worth seeing for historical reasons only

If this hadn't been the Tramp's premiere, there'd be no sense in watching it. Very primitive comedy -- the whole film is a 7-minute shtick that consists of Chaplin standing in front of a cameraman who's trying to shoot an auto race. This is repeated for the length of the film.

Like most of Chaplin's first one and two-reelers, the comedy is almost completely obscured by the crudity of the film technique. As in most of the 1914 films, it's sometimes almost impossible to make out what's happening on screen, the technical side of things is so elementary. But it IS the tramps first appearance, so it will always have that claim on our attention.